CDW Merchants & Keenpac GlobalShop

Art & Creative Direction, Exhibition Design

The World of Mr. Sullivan

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CDW Merchants and Keenpac needed to share an exhibition booth for GlobalShop 2015. CDW Merchants produces in-store props and their sister company Keenpac specializes in retail packaging. Looking at both companies core businesses I created a concept and a tool for the sales team that linked them together by the use of storytelling. The idea was to create a space that is far more memorable, engaging and effective than a traditional exhibition booth and make the brand’s values resonate with the visitors. Throughout the booth visitors are taken on a journey with Mr. James Sullivan from his New England home to his workplace. Starting in the CDW Merchants side the visitor is transported to Mr. Sullivan’s eclectic living room where suitcases and artifacts show his passion for traveling.

Green Thumb

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Transitioning between spaces we discover James’ garden where everything is growing and blooming. A cricket game and gardening tools are spread out on the green lawn waiting to be picked up again. This is James’ sanctuary where he reenergizes and plays with his dogs.

Being Part of the Story--

Along the journey I wanted to create a way to keep visitors engaged and start to transition their mindset towards Keenpac. I incorporated a modular window that invited visitors to create their own window display and then share it on social media. This helped gain visibility of both companies by having live time tweets and posts about the booth during the show.

Keenpac, the Other Side of the Business--

Finally, the last stop on the journey is Mr. Sullivan’s workplace, Keenpac. Here is where Mr. Sullivan gets to develop his great retail packaging ideas. In parallel to the story of Mr. Sullivan I created a secondary theme focusing on the printing process of packaging and bags, which relates to the technical aspect of Keenpac. Everything in the booth revolves around the CMYK color scheme creating an interesting dynamic. Using this color scheme on the central table I was able to help tell the story in a graphic way of Keenpac’s four-step business process: design, development, production and logistics.

Reinventing Ourselves--

One of the main considerations for the design of this booth was to reuse an existing structure and make something new out of it. Beforehand, I mocked up the booth and created a precise display guideline for each section to help the team set up the booth and place things correctly. The booth was a success by bringing together two companies that work in different areas of the business told in one cohesive story. The story of Mr. Sullivan was only not only entertaining for the visitors but also a good tool for the sales team to engage with potential clients.